INVESTIGATIONS OF VENTILATION RATE, SMOKING ACTIVITY AND INDOOR AIR-QUALITY AT 4 LARGE OFFICE BUILDINGS

Four large office buildings were investigated to assess relationships among ventilation rate, smoking activity, and indicators of indoor air quality. Inspections of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning sy stems indicated that they were adequately designed, operated, and main tained. During the tests, all four HVAC systems provided ventilation r ates essentially conforming to ASHRAE Standard 62-1989. IAQ indicators included respirable suspended particles, formaldehyde, volatile organ ic compounds, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Environmental tobac co smoke indicators included ultraviolet particulate matter, fluoresce nt particulate matter, and nicotine. Results show that with the HVAC s ystems adequately designed, operated in accordance with the current AS HRAE Standard, and properly maintained, all indicators were below appl icable standards, regardless of smoking policy.